- [Mark] We're in England
somewhere. Somewhere. With Peter Regwell, with PDR Contracting. - [Peter] Yep. - [Mark] And we're going to, kind of, see what Peter does here. How
things are done, other places. I underestimate how hard it is
to drive on the opposite side of the road, and navigate
at the same time. (both screaming) Thanks for having us, Peter. - [Peter] You're welcome. - Don't give him a hard
time about the way he talks. (Peter laughs) He thinks it's normal. - We're all normal. It's all you. - It's all us. You guys are
the originals. The OG's. (hip hop music) ♪ Ding Dong. ♪ Anyhow, you call it a
kit. This is your kit. - Yeah, your kit. - This is probably the
backbone of your operation? - Yeah. So, I guess the main
machine for what we get up to. - And you were telling us earlier that you have the same
exact problem we do. And that is there's nobody to work. - Yeah. There's real shortage
of skilled labor here. - That's, a common
theme in the US as well. How can I get the most done
with the least amount of people? - Like, I guess I explain it,
like the other post drivers, they're post drivers. Whereas a SoloTrak I'd described more, as like, a fencing machine.
It does the whole job. So I guess start front to back. It's got a four-way blade on it. So up, down, then tilt,
which helps with the netter. - [Mark] Oh yeah. - [Peter] You got the, the netter, the back frame and then the blade, the tension ram on it as well. So, one of the arguments, from guys, about using tractioners
for pulling up netting is, you know, they run out of, they don't have the traction
or the weight to pull it. So you can kind of strain
this up as much as you can with the tracks. And
then before you lose it, then you can drop it down, get it stable, and then push it out with the hydraulic. Yeah. And that re-, that
makes a huge difference. You've basically got the netter,
which unhooks pretty easy. And then back frame, you
got the set of pallet forks that drop into a little
couple of slots and pin on. So then you can move
packs of posts around. And then if you want to
drop it into a-, or turn into, like a cradle, it's got
a couple of holes in the front and you click them on, becomes
like a U-shaped cradle. And then, like you say,
you've got four-way tilt, so you can tilt when
you're doing the netting if you're on a bit of a slope. So, and then you've got the blade which, has been real handy, actually. I never had a blade in the old ones. And it's surprising how much
you use that (indistinct). You've got like a double gateway, and it's going to be a foot
out the ground over here,. and you can just you can
mess about and grade it off. Or if you've got lumps of
stuff that farmers left and not cleared. 'Cause he's, "Yeah, I'll clear all that," and then he hasn't. - [Mark] He won't. - [Peter] Yeah, it's been real handy. - [Mark] This is obviously reversible too. It looks like it swings right around this. - Yeah. So that swings
around the other way. So you can run out and
strain from both sides. - [Allen] This is a spike? - [Peter] That's a rock spike
for running, most common size for post around here is five
by three or six by three. - [Mark] And I can see you've
got your bush peg up here. You've got a stretcher here. I mean everything's got a spot. - Tool storage was a big thing. Like with all the other
ones we'd had before. You kind of struggle with storage
and we've got the box mate up for the tops. It's got spare opens and
belts and you know, kind of your emergency bits. And then under there you've
got, like, decent storage for your crimps and crimpers and stuff, When you're on the line, You don't have to wander back
to the truck all the time. - And then back here's
kind of the workhorse. Is this part of the air compressor set up? - So yeah, that's your air
tank and your compressor. Oh yeah, that's your air
compressor just there. Yeah, I've gotten what, two
and a half thousand hours on it and it's, you know, been no trouble. - Worked really well, huh? Now, you're saying this
one has remote as well. - And I said to Simon, like,
"If I'm gonna buy one off you, it's gotta be remote." I've gotta have it on remote. I've just got too used to it. - [Mark] So, I see you have
a little ball down here. Is that- - [Peter] Oh, you saw
the one on the front too. It's got a tow bar front and back. So you drag your trailer around the fields if it's a bit too wet with the truck. - Does this thing swing out? - It's got a couple of
positions underneath. You can take the bolt out,
if you prefer it nearer you or whatever. - [Mark] . How many kilos is this? - 340, that one. I had a 400 on the old
machine and I was adamant, "Oh I can't, I'm not going
down a size." You know. I want the same or more. So, actually for balance
and for hitting power, this has worked out pretty
good, I tend to find. I'll fire her up, you can see. - [Mark] Yeah. - [Peter] How it runs - [Mark] Yeah, I'm curious.
You have my curiosity peaked. - [Unidentified] Can we start up, can we? Can we see it run? Can we? (engine starts) (observers laugh and cheer) - [Peter] So yes, (indistinct) It's got a big ram back here.
It's got quite a lot of power. It's quite a large ram. - [Mark] And how many- how
tall a post can you get on? - [Peter] I have four
meter just under 14 foot. Thirteen, six. - [Mark] 14 foot. Yeah.
So you can get on top of a 14 foot tall post. Very
similar to other drivers. - [Peter] So that's your max height. - [Dan] So can you run your
auger with your drive plate on? - Yeah. Oh yeah, you can.
So with it out the way, you can stress that on there,
but you don't have to do that. I just, sometimes I, forget.
If you're busy augering. - [Mark] That's really cool. (machine running) - So, you can put all the
weight in the machine, like on the auger tip. - [Unidentified] Ohhhh! - But if you're drilling
rock, like you want put some- or harder ground, you want
to put a lot of weight on, you can put quite a lot
of weight on with it. And if you wanna put more
weight on, you can slew it round to the back. And as you push down if
you've got your blade down, you can get a lot of pressure. - Oh, yeah. So, how much
slew does this have? - So it's got two hundred degree
slews, the way it's set up. But for driving it, you got
a little bit of forward slew, like, if you just need to
get into that little corner. Or you've got something, and you just need to push it over a bit. (engine running) - [Mark] Oh yeah. Back to there. And you say you've got
about 24 inches telescoping? - Yeah, it's about, I'm sure it's 600 mil, which is about 24 inch. - [Mark] Seems very well balanced. - [Peter] Yeah. It is, yeah. Oh, that's your, um, your air- - [Allen] Oh, your air hose. - [Peter] Air hose, that's on a reel. Again, that's been a nice (indistinct) I got sick of hauling a compressor in and out of the truck all the time. Which is why I really wanted
a compressor on the machines. - So what's today's project? - We've got little run, at the far side, we can do with you guys. With that little bit,
and doing the netting, you should see, kind of,
what this thing does. - [Mark] That'd be good.
Well, let's go to work. Let's get dirty! (upbeat instrumental music) - [Allen] I lost a
glove. I lost them both. - So one of the things I'm amazed by, is I look down this fence, and it looks really,
really good and straight. The only problem I have
with this, is this post, because it's a driven post,
it is extremely loose. Like, I could probably pull
this thing out by hand. - Just do it now. - Just- you want me to pull this out? - Just get it over with, yeah. - Okay, okay, here I go. (Mark groans) - Okay. No, it's not going anywhere. How deep is this in the ground? - Three foot. - Three foot. So this is
three feet in the ground, in this clay and they don't move. They are freaking so-lid. And so, this is just for
all you people out there, that think a driven post is
not as good as a tamp post. - [Betty White] You know who you are. - If you were to tamp this post,
in this muddy mucky ground, how well would that work? - Yeah, not well you could probably- - I could probably move that around, and pop it right out, right? - Yep. - So, just to stir the pot a little bit, I'm gonna tell you that
driven posts are better. So, there's a reason that we drive stuff. - [Uncle Fester] There! I said it! - But onto another subject. We're getting ready to do a brace. Now what style of brace
are we going to do? - [Peter] Yeah, like you guys are saying, you call it a round space,
we call it an angle strut. - [Mark] Alright, well let's do this. - [Peter] Alright. - What he's getting
ready to do he-ah is... I don't even know, is that Australian? I have such a horrible British accent. I give up, I'm not going to talk British. But what he's getting ready to do here, is he's going to use this post knocker, 'cause that's what they call them here. They call them knockers.
That's a nice bit of kit. And he's gonna use his nice
bit of kit, post knocker, to-. Right in the ground, just like that. Look at that. And he
did all that by himself. (machine tapping) Can we take just a quick minute to appreciate how good this looks? Considering this gentleman
didn't use a level at all. There was no level, like,
look at all those insulators. That is a thing of beauty. So, what he was talking about is, he wants this strut from
a third to half height. He prefers it to be
forcing down into the soil, more than going more laterally. So he tends to put his strut
just to touch higher than, maybe, some other people do. So he's going half height on this, which is going to be about two feet up. Which will give him a
more aggressive angle. Now other people like a nice
low strut, and that's gonna be, again, whatever your
soil conditions may be, and what's ever suitable in your area. So he's gonna drive his foot, and he is using a railroad tie for that, because he finds that that just
holds up better in the soil. Also notice, because he is
often time working alone, he has a clamp here to
help support his work, so that he can keep working
with limited amounts of hands. So that's how he's able
to do what he does. Only having one person. You'll also notice he's going to, 'cause he wants to replicate
the angle of that post. He wants that post-, or that strut, to be flat up against that railroad tie, once he gets it all
driven down in the ground. You'll see that gap. He's trying
to get that nice and even. (machine knocks) I think this man's about
to save himself some work. That's what I think he's getting
ready to happen right here. I think he's trying to be lazy. We'll see, let's see how this pans out. (metal grinds) I freaking love lazy
people. I love lazy people. Laziness is the like, it's
the mother of all invention. That is, it's freaking brilliant! - [Peter] It's awesome isn't it? - That's so freaking
brilliant. I love that. - Yeah - You're welcome. That
didn't even cost you a thing. - That's courtesy of Joe Morgan.
He come up with the idea. Yeah, to be fair. - Hey, all my best ideas were stolen too. - Oh, absolutely. Yeah. - And that's brilliant. - Yeah. - You're the first one
I've ever seen do that. - Yeah, there's not many. You're a man after my own heart in that, I just can't stand digging holes ...it just...it does me right in. (Mark laughs) And then, I think I'm kind of backward
to most guys in the UK. They normally make their
struts, they'll shape them, they'll mortice them and then they'll drive that thing after. I find, if I tried that, you only have to have that
post wander away from you a little bit, and then you know you're
not getting enough pressure on the post. So I started doing it like this. And you can also, again, get the angle your mortice
to bang on or you know, nick as near as you can,
without kind of, guessing or changing that. So like I say, some people think I'm a
bit backwards doing this, but it works for me. Know
it won't work for everyone. - [Mark] Trust me. If they
hate what you're doing, they'll tell you about it. - [Peter] Oh yeah, I bet. Yeah (chainsaw running) (planer running) A lot of guys will roll
their eyes at planing, think it's unnecessary.
And it is unnecessary. You don't have to do
it. You still get more- It will still hold a
strainer, without planing it. There's two things I like with planing, it's easy for me to mark and keep neat. But also, I think it stops the water
coming in to the timber, so much. You kinda have that rough-
and it seems to sit, with a lot of water in
this, like, rough texture. Whereas you smooth it off, and I noticed it when we were
painting up the mortices, after you plane them, it doesn't take a lot and
it sort of all dribbles off. But you leave it rough, and
you have to put loads on, to get it to all go in
there and, you know, it holds a lot of moisture.
So, I think it can only help, for the longevity of the joint. Yeah, that's the StrainRite fencing- Yeah, I think that's the standard one. Yeah, it's been good. I got it 'cause a lot of other
fencers seem to use them, and like them. So, yeah. Nice, good, tough chisel. So, we've got a couple
intermediates to knock in, and then we can tie a
wire on and roll this out, and stretch it up. So, do you guys want to have a go at knocking these few inters in? Does he always do this? Seems to disappear when you
guys are doing all the work. - [Dan] Oh, yes. - [Peter] I'd noticed that. (laughing) - As soon as the work
starts, poof! He's gone. - Poof, gone. Yeah, I've
just seen that, doesn't he? - [Allen] Oh, yeah.
Well, look at that time. - [Peter] Yeah. (laughing) It's coffee time. Huh? - [Dan] So, you want me to use the level? - Yeah. - Or you just want me to use my eye? - Well with these rustic
ones, I tend to find, like, a level can lie to
you a little bit, you know? Mast has a bubble on there. - Oh, okay. - Center bubbles. And you've got, obviously, drop weight, side shift in and out's the first one. Back shift, which is forward
and back, is the second one. And then your two tilts. I'm sure that'll make your
head spin for a minute, until you get the hang of it. But you got enough to deal with probably. - No, no, no. I got this. - It's like watching someone
drive one of your children. It's, yeah...I'm just trying not to look. - Don't worry, I got this. (upbeat instrumental music) (machine pounding) - [Peter] I'll hold this down a bit. Yeah, go on. Right.
Right. Right. Right. Yep. (machine pounding) And you could run it until
that meets that edge. (machine pounding) It's good. - (indistinct) - [Peter] And it'll hook on there. Oh. (laughing) We'll say the American did
that one, it'll be fine. (upbeat instrumental music) - Yeah, you've showed me
a couple tricks already. Like, I'd never even thought
to cross the chain like that. - Yeah. Yeah. It just grips it to- And then on the big ends, like, if you're pulling
out a lot of fence. You've got these forestry
hooks and then you can just- And then you can be- If you're running down a line, normally, I'd do it with
a digger if it's here. But if you've got like
a 200 meter stretch, it's not worth bringing the machinery. It can just- Just fling, yank it out and
it just, once you take it off, it'll just flip off and then
backtrack to the next one. Yank that one out. So if you're doing a lot, you know, it's worth chucking it on, but you're just tweaking up a
little bit, I just use that. That's, kind of like,
your every day chain. - Yep. - And something else
that bush pin guide does, that you like. - This is all free. You're not going to have to
pay a thing, for all of this. All these ideas are free. Steal away - Particularly on strains,
if you're fighting that- I could have done it on that
one over there, I guess. I should have done it for you. And as you're driving them, like, it would slide on the rollers. It works really well.
'Cause if it's really hard, or if you're belting the crap out of it, and you want it to free flow. - [Mark] Very smart. - Yeah, they work really well. (upbeat guitar music) We'll go down that far
side and tie it off, and run that out until it stops. And then we'll come back
up here and we'll tie here, and, kind of, run down to it and, kind of, meet in the middle. (upbeat guitar music) (engine running) - [Peter] This is the
really long boring part. - [Mark] This is the worst part. - [Peter] This is the worst
part. Stripping all the knots. - [Mark] Stripping all the knots. And of course he's using
the wonderful Knipex. - [Peter] The only way to go. - The only. The official
cutter of professional- - [Peter] Of fencers
everywhere. There you go. - The OG. - The OG. - Sorry, come this side. (post rammer pounding) - [Mark] If you're wondering
what he is using there, that is a StrainRite post rammer. Link in the description below. - The only post rammer. - The only. - OG. - It's the OG for sure. (machine running) - [Mark] Do you get the
people here in England, or the UK, that basically
think what you're doing, and how you're going about
it, it's rubbish too? - [Peter] Yep! they think it's
a completely waste of time. Meeting some of the really good
fencers around the country, and improving how you do it.
You can get lost in it too. Like, you know, you can go so far, you're trying to do
competition spec fence, daily. - [Mark] Yeah and not get paid for it. - [Peter] And that's- yeah, exactly. I think a lot of guys, go through that process where
they start to get better, they do it as well as they can, realize that you can't make any money doing it quite this well. So they kind of, get back to a
standard that's professional, but you can still turn a
good product out for a price. And, you know, it's finding
that balance, I guess. All right. (engine starts) - [Peter] And we did, I'd
say about 5000 meters. And I think it was like, 1,200 crimps or something on that job. And I was like, ah, if we get the job, and I can get it, I'm
ordering one of these things. So we did. It just turned
it from a chore, into like, just another task. And
time's money, isn't it? - [Mark] I've never got
a play with one of those. You mind if I try it. - [Peter] Yeah, of course.
Yeah. It was me being greedy. Yeah, absolutely. - [Mark] That's the way to crimp. - That is the way to crimp.
Absolutely. Fill your boots. We've got another one to do
when we join up in the middle, so you can do that too. Let's try not to crimp
your fingers together, that's all I'll say. - [Mark] Yeah, that's
another quality product, brought to you by StrainRite. - [Peter] There you go. - [Mark] Boys from New
Zealand know how to do it. - [Dan] How long does the battery last? - [Peter] I've not run it out yet. It gets- Oh, I'll run it for like a week, and then it might drop one bar, and then I'll just chuck it on charge. I've not run it down, flat out. (machine running) - He was going to be doing
this on his own today anyhow. - [Peter] There you go. Yeah, give it a flick and check it, how it is on the corner. (hammer tapping) (electronic crimping) (machine running) - Hey, we hope that you
have enjoyed learning a little bit about how to
fence here, in England. And how Peter does things,
here at PDR Contracting LTD. And a little bit about the
SoloTrak fencing machine. Which I think is very unique. That's why it's been Peter's
machine of choice, here, for the last couple years. And we learned a ton of tricks, about how you're trying to
save some steps and save time. And I really appreciate
that about your operation, because time's money and labor sucks. - Yep, absolutely. - So it was really great
hanging out with you. - No worries. - Appreciate you having us over. Yeah, let's go to a pub and maybe- - Pub Sounds good. - Pub, pub. Until next
time, I'm Mark with SWI. - I'm Dan. - I'm Allen. - And I'm Peter. And you
have a good dang day. (fire crackling)
